Camping In the Empire ((Quetzal and Timmir))

[Quetzal]

Isrydia nodded to Urak-Thar and set off riding alongside him. He was right. Her hope had been that the Shade had not been sent to target them but had been passing by chance, and that it would target the most important member of their party, Brenton, and leave her alone. On the chance it was just wanting to kill for the sake of it, there was safety to be found in numbers. The company of a warrior Kull in the face of such danger could mean the difference between life and death, so she was grateful to Urak-Thar for just being there.

Then the Shade appeared. Urak-Thar swung at him but missed, and Isrydia drew her sword, Nettle, but her horse had other ideas. She neighed with fright at the sight of the Shade, and bolted at Urak-Thar's words without any encouragement from her rider. Isrydia did not want to leave the Kull in combat with such a deadly opponent, however. Glancing back, she saw his arm was wounded, the Shade parrying his blows easily before digging his blade into his chest. That was it. She refused to let anyone die to save her, and anyway the Shade might still come after her once Urak-Thar was defeated. Hesitating, she turned around and charged at the Shade, feeling her heart beat in her mouth. This was about the stupidest thing she had ever done.

The hatchling was more rational. In his terror, his mind exploded out towards the city he could see, Dras-Leona, reach as many minds of the soldiers on the walls as possible, and sent them a plea for help as well as an image of Urak-Thar fighting the Shade. Isrydia felt this, and muttered "Brisingr," producing a flickering ice blue orb above their heads so help might find them.

She swung her sword at the Shade. He parried with a lazy flick of his arm, the force enough to push her from her horse, which ran off somewhere in the darkness. "My dragon's managed to reach the minds of some soldiers in Dras-Leona and ask for help," she informed Urak-Thar as she hurriedly got to her feet, eyes not leaving the Shade.

The hatchling clung to her back, too exposed on the ground. The Shade saw this and have Isrydia a cruel smile, stepping forward. In a flash, his blade was almost at her shoulder, her parry barely in time. She blocked a few blows, then her sword was pushed out the Shade's way and his sword continued to hit her left arm, then her right leg. All the while she kept facing him, preventing him reaching the young dragon on her back. The Shade moved more swiftly than any dancer, stealthily darting around. Before she could turn, his sword shot out and returned dripping dragon's blood. An immense high-pitched howling shriek came from the hatchling as blood began to seep over his scales from a fresh wound along his left side, from wing to hind leg. The cry rang across the area, striking immense feelings of love, pain, misery and anger in Isrydia's heart. Without thinking, she swung Nettle furiously at the Shade. The clumsy blow was blocked easily, of course.

[Aelodil]

Urak-Thar turned to the high-pitched scream and saw the dragon being cut down by the Shade with such ease. The Shade did not hesitate and when he looked in it's eyes.. oblivion was all that looked back. He was ready to whack Isrydia up on the head for coming back but he had no time. His plan was simple and suicidal. He grabbed the Shade as it's attention was wandering and wrapped it in a bear hug with all his remaining strength. He kept his arms stone tight, his muscles screaming in agony. Still he kept tight and glared at Isrydia who had turned to a statue."Run you fool! Go to camp, find a healer! Tell the Lieutenant to --" whatever he was going to say was interrupted by bones cracking and he was about to smile in triumph when he realized they were his own. Blood dripping from his armor, he yelled at Isrydia to run.

Opening his eyes.. he saw his child-hood friends. The same ones who, years to come, would challenge him. He looked around him and saw his home village. He looked down and found his hands as small as a baby Kull's. He reached to his head and found no horns. He continued walking, remembering all the times he had spent here. He looked upon the same forest he used to hunt for food in. Every little detail he remembered. Then a dark presence swooped upon the village and burned it all to the ground. He began realizing.. none of this was real. The Shade must have plucked open his mind and began to terrify him. He concentrated on the pain. Ah, he felt the pain. That was good, he wasn't dead. He concentrated on nothing other than the pain and with a struggle regained his clear conscious.

He never was good at magic.. the small amount he knew was a few crude spells. But he had energy.. and that was all he needed. Muttering, he casted a small bolt of lightning that took almost all his strength to cast and rammed it into the Shade. Screaming filled the night, the Shade's screaming. Praying to all of the gods he knew, Urgal, Dwarven, everything, he prayed that Isrydia would reach the camp in time. Using what little of strength he still had, he healed his bones ever so slightly as to buy more time. He knew what he was doing ; delaying his death. But if his death meant to save the lives of many others, he would pay his life without hesitation.

[Brenton]

Brenton's stallion thundered over the dirt and grass with such speed and urgency that the whole night seemed to freeze and go silent as if there were nothing in the world besides the frantic horse and rider. The elfin rider king could still remember what it had been like when he had lost Vaentr to a shade attack back in the city where he had found one of his first students. It had sent him into a downward spiral for the two years he had spent in a cell but now Brenton had the very vast knowledge that a shade was dangerous and that there was no sure way to save someone from them. The ground passed beneath the hooves of the white stallion as Brenton looked out at the terrain in search of someone who knew where the woman and her hatchling were but all he could see was a flickering light. Even that was just barely so Brenton had further to ride still.

[Timmir]

Hearing the dying scream of a man in the distance, Trelik gave a silent curse. He should have known that the shade would do something tricky like using invisibility magic to allow it to pick them off one by one, and it was now chasing Isyrdia down.

Neldral, go...

I'm already on it. Neldral interrupted as he knew what Trelik was going to ask of him. With that, the dragon roared as flew as fast as he could towards the direction Isyrdia went.

Trelik watched as Brenton rode off after the direction he sent Isrydia and several of his men went towards the direction of the man's scream. He then looked back at the camp, seeing that it was relatively abandon. While there were still a few guards posted around, they were to busy keeping an eye out for the shade that he could possibly slip by them with minimal ease. It would be so easy and who knew what treasures that an elvish king would have with him.

Trelik shook his head to free his mind from temptation. He reminded himself that there was a Shade out there killing people, and something needed to be done about it. With a deep sigh, he forced himself to run towards were he left his horse and away from the tempting prize. He could only hope though that he would make it in time.

---

As Neldral flew he heard a distinct scream of a young dragon, which was soon followed by an Urgal roaring in pain. Hearing that, Neldral forced himself to move even faster in hope that he could make it there in time. Soon he saw Isrydia and a Kull fighting for their lives against the Shade. With a roar, he gathered the Shades attention, preparing to show this vile beast the true power of a dragon.

[Quetzal]

Isrydia wasn't about to make the same mistake twice. She would hate for Urak-Thar to die while she fled and did nothing to save him, but the hatchling mattered far more than anything else. Vaentr's Eldunari was still in a pouch at her belt, too, and it could spell disaster if a Shade got his hands on the deceased dragon. The hatchling's strength was failing, and she was forced to carry him in her arms as he could not support his own weight. She sent him a flurry of comforting thoughts, but his mind was dull with the pain and all he could do was stare back at her with eyes that seemed to scream. From his mind, she could tell that the pain was searing and unbearable, and that his left wing and hind leg could only move with great difficulty. The Shade's sword must have cut muscle, then. She could feel his pain as a dull throb in her own mind as she ran in the direction of the camp, stumbling, glancing back at the Shade every now and then before her eyes gravitated back towards the blood seeping from the wound, painting her hand deep red. She took off her cloak and bundled the hatchling into the worn velvet like material, bunching up some of it and pressing it hard along the length of the wound to stem the bleeding. It stung the hatchling, she knew, but it was that or watch him bleed to death.

The world was blurry. Isrydia furiously blinked to stop the tears flowing. There was a Shade behind her, for goodness' sake! Crying could wait. What would Brenton, the elves and soldiers and Urak-Thar and Trelik and Grazael and Neldral think if they saw her crying? She was a Rider. Riders did not cry.

This one did. A tear finally escaped her eye as the hatchling gave a weak squeak of agony that drove a dagger into her heart. It was soon joined by others, dampening the cloak that was already starting to grow damp with blood. What if this would not be enough to hold off the bleeding? This hatchling in her arms meant everything to her. He was only a week old, for gods' sakes, why should be be allowed to die so soon?!

She looked up when Neldral roared, relieved to see the brass coloured dragon flying in to attack. In the distance at Dras-Leona, the sounds of a dozen or so knights riding towards the blue orb over the struggle with the Shade. The foul creature was distracted momentarily by Neldral, too. Isrydia thought that perhaps most of them would come out of this alive. A dozen knights, a dragon and a kull should be able to at least keep him at bay. But she found she was caring less and less as her concern for her hatchling grew and consumed her. Her grip tightened on the cloth, applying even more pressure to the wound. One of the elves at the camp would be able to stop the bleeding, surely, but none there were healers. They would have to wait until they reached the great healers of Ellesmera for the hatchling to recover fully.

[Aelodil]

Everything around him exploded in sound. The sound of a dozen men riding horses. The sound of a dragon roaring. He knew his limits, and he knew that soon he would collapse. The only thing keeping him from that was the hope of the sound of a dragon's roar. It wasn't exactly a big dragon but it showed bravery and courage unlike anything he had ever seen. He watched in a stupor as the dragon dived in at the Shade, scales gleaming beautifully. He himself continued his reckless assault on the Shade, swinging clumsily. His first swung had much power, but was easy to dodge. But this time Neldral had the Shade's attention and Crusher slammed into the Shade's arm. He heard a screech and bones breaking but he knew he hadn't done much but buy a few extra seconds. The only way to kill a Shade was to stab it in the heart.

Finally, Urak-Thar began taunting the Shade over to where he heard the knights coming from. He knew that even with another dozen knights their chances were slim at best but they had to try. His duty was to keep Dras-Leona safe. Finally, Urak-Thar spotted one of the riders' horses and in one movement, turned around and swung Crusher at the Shade in an attempt to distract him. The other warriors quickly dismounted and took out a sword and shield each. The Shade hissed at them and swung furiously at the nearest one who quickly crumbled and jumped back as a wound in his chest as long as Urak-Thar's arm appeared. Furiously, Urak-Thar and the remaining 11 warriors attacked the Shade. One by one they were thrown back. Urak-Thar cursed. All they could hope for was for an Elf to arrive.. or better yet an army of Elves arrived.

Looking around him he saw the bodies of the warriors... some dead, others not so fortunate, they had been wounded in such ways that life would be impossible. The Shade smiled cruelly then murdered those as well. Urak-Thar, panting and at his limits then heard another horse. Of course! The Elven king Brenton! All he needed to do was buy some time. He bit his lip and attacked with whatever energy he had. Furiously he swung over and over and over until he was certain this Shade didn't mean to kill him.. it was playing with him. Furious, he roared and once again swung. Though this time, he swung at the Shade's chest. It was a lucky hit but he heard ribs cracking and that granted him satisfaction beyond anything. Arms down, he panted and waited for the Shade to recover and meet his doom.

[Brenton]

Brenton felt muscles rippling under the horse's skin as he drew Undbitr and slashed at the shade. It left a deep cut along the creature's chest but didn't actually Pierce the heart. The elf king swung around again and saw a few elven guards approaching from behind on foot. Brenton grinned and charged forward again, leaving another long gash on the shade. There were so many bodies and already the shade was turning toward Brenton.

[Timmir]

The Shade was heavily wounded from the attacks done by the Kull and Elf. As he turned to face his elvish attacker, he smiled and entered a battle pose as he casted a spell to heal his wounds. It was going to take more then a human, a wounded hatchling, a dragon, a wounded kull, and an elf to bring him down. His red eyes would look straight into the elvish kings.

The Shade did overlook one thing though. As he faced Brenton, prepared for a duel, certain that the elf would be the last contender he would need to face, he didn't notice the fast moving dragon that was dive-bombing him from the sky. Needless to say, he was caught completely off guard as Neldral's head collided with his body, knocking him several feet up into the air before falling back down on his back, his sword landing blade first into the ground a couple feet away from him. This move had completely stunned the Shade, leaving him completely vulnerable to attack if, but for a short. Neldral gave a small growl of satisfaction at the success of his attack, hoping that someone would be able to take advantage of this moment and finish this abomination off.

[Quetzal]

Isrydia stopped running back for the camp when Brenton arrived. That could mean two things; one, he had realized the Shade was near her and had been prepared to leave what was left of the camp alone; two, there was no more camp. She hoped it was the second option, but with no horse it would take her a long time to run through the whatever dangers lurked in the darkness to reach the camp, whatever condition that was in. It was a hard decision to make, but it was probably better for her to stay here. She tore a strips from the bottom of her cloak, wrapping them around the hatchling's body as he lay still now, twitching every now and then with pain. She tied the strips around him like a bandage, the pressure from them holding the wound shut and thankfully more or less stemming the bleeding.

A quick move from Neldral caught her attention, finally making her look at the fight some feet away rather than at the injured dragon in her arms. It was with great pleasure that she saw the Shade lift into the air at the same time as his blade landed near her, plunging into the ground blade first. There was no way she was letting him get his hands back on that. Holding the hatchling with her left arm, she tugged it free and held it tightly with her right hand. It was a long blade, lighter than it looked. It felt very different to her own Nettle, and blood ran down the sharp edges. She looked on it in disgust. Seeing the Shade crashing onto his back, stunned, she could hardly stop herself running up to him and plunging his own blade deep into his heart for what he did to her hatchling. But sense held her back. He was too far away, it would take her a few seconds to reach him and by then he would have already gotten up, no doubt angry enough to kill her and her hatchling then and there. She was not strong or skilled enough to be able to fight him off, as seen earlier when he had blocked every one of her attacks with ease.

Brenton was riding his horse, and so wouldn't be able to reach down to stab the Shade in the heart, and dismounting would probably take too long. She was too far away to get to the Shade in time. Neldral could probably pierce the monster's heart with a well-placed talon. Her eyes were on Urak-Thar. He was close enough to shatter his heart with that great mace of his. Having fought the longest out of any of them there and having suffered the greatest number of injuries, he was more than deserving of the honour of killing the Shade, although of course right now stopping the Shade as quickly as possible was more important than who did it. He would be easier to fight now that she had his sword if no-one managed to kill him before he stood up.

[Aelodil]

((Em, sorry Quetzal bout this.. uh, I could edit it. I just thought it'd make more sense as Isrydia didn't have her horse so by the time she reached the Shade he probably woulda been up. Again, if you want I'll edit it))

Urak-Thar saw his chance and took it. He quickly grabbed the Shade's sword from Isrydia, not meaning to be rude yet his chance of killing the Shade were higher. Perhaps if she had more skill he would have stepped aside but now was the time to act. He sprinted back to the Shade, sword in hand, his arms screaming in agony at being dealt like this after breaking. He stood above the Shade, watching him in disgust then plunged the sword into his chest, piercing his heart. Beneath the Shade's body was granite and so, Urak-Thar pushed again but with more force, the sword shattered and bits stuck in the Shade's heart while he dropped the sword. May both sword and owner perish. After that it was just a matter of him falling down. He stood up again smiling weakly, just before he passed out.

Tired beyond imagination, Urak-Thar opened his eyes but stayed on the ground."Just a quick nap.." he said tired. He looked at what remained of the Shade -- his sword and said out loud,"Did we do it? Did we kill the Shade?" he said, certain that it had been a team effort that had doomed the Shade. None of them could have single handedly killed the monster. He looked at Brenton, smiling past the blood then at Isrydia, that same smile on his face and at last to Neldral gratitude at being saved high upon his face. After a long while of sitting down, Urak-Thar got up and said,"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go back and celebrate!" voice louder and more confident now. He ignored the bodies of his dead comrades, not wanting to look at their pained faces. He wanted a celebration to forget the carnage the Shade had wrought upon them.

He then trotted back to camp, beckoning for them to follow. Just as they neared, the sun shone high up in the sky, warmth spread across him and he smiled. The Shade was gone, they were all there, what more reason to celebrate?

((I guess now, the next to post should post it in Dras-Leona at night.))

[Brenton]

The walled city that had been under one feast just a couple days ago now had another one going on again with all of the people crowding into the rooms while others brought out food and drink. Injured soldiers and the family of dead soldiers all remembered the fight that had occurred only five hours earlier with a deadly shade who had posed a great enough threat to take out most of the elven king's guards as well as multiple Varden troops who had rode to their aid. If it hadn't been for Neldral then the whole situation would have gone south quickly. Now instead it was Brenton with Isrydia and the rest of the surviving travelers in a group while Brenton pulled off his gloves and looked at the dragon hatchling with some unease. He was only 26 years old and hadn't seen much in ways of healing so all Brenton could do was keep the hatchling from dying. Hopefully that would be enough for the time being and then there might be enough time for them to get to Du Weldenvarden to get the elven healers to help more.

Thank you, Urak-Thar, for saving Isrydia like that. When I rode in I thought for sure I had ridden to my death for I would have fought that shade by myself if Isrydia had been killed in battle. Now that we are all healed as best as possible, let this feast begin. Brenton picked up Grazael who he had grabbed from the camp and set the dragon on his shoulder. The golden scales were small and Brenton was still in awe that he had such a new chance with life.

[Timmir]

Trelik rode his horse as fast as he could, cursing the fact that he had kept his horse so far away. He had hoped that he would have been able to get to the scene in time to help. However, he was to late.

As he arrived on the scene, he watched as the Kull drove the blade into the Shade's heart. All around laid the bodies of soldiers who had lost there life fighting the dark creature. His eyes then laid on Neldral, who was standing proudly about what he managed to do. Neldral, noticing the presense of his rider, then turned his head to face Trelik. Their eyes only met for a second before Trelik rode away from the scene.

Trelik, where are you going?[/color] The dragon asked, reaching his mind out towards his rider.

Away[/color] Was the only answer Trelik gave Neldral.

Neldral looked back at Urak-Thar as the Kull asked everybody to follow him so that they could celebrate. The big one wants to celebrate our victory. You should come.

You know me Neldral. I'm not one to celebrate, especially when I have nothing to celebrate. Besides, I'm sure that the last thing Dras-Leona guards want is to see my ugly head again.

Neldral remained silent as he watched the others begin to head off to heal their wounds and celebrate their victory. His attention soon rested on the dead that surrounded him. So many lives were wasted in order to combat a single evil. Neldral couldn't help, but wonder what would have happened if he never made onto the scene and attacked when he did. What would have happened to Isrydia, Brenton, the hatchlings, or the big horn one? What about Trelik?

Neldral gave a small whimper as he didn't want to think about that. They were alive and that was all that matters. At least, that's what Neldral hoped.

Neldral looked over at the others again for one last time before flying off towards his rider.

[Quetzal]

Isrydia gladly let Urak-Thar take the sword. A sense of relief and gladness fell over her as the Shade expired. She had hated things before, but from the moment the Shade had opened her hatchling's side, she felt a fury she had never felt before. She wanted the Shade dead. In all her live, never had she wanted to see anything dead, never truly. It was a new feeling that shocked and even scared her. It did not feel like her to want something dead, yet she had felt it. Her love for the hatchling was stronger than she had thought. With the others, she headed for the city to celebrate.

Another feast warmed her belly. Her horse had been found, calmed and brought back to the stables. There was happiness at the defeat of another evil all around her, but she did not share in it. Trying to get the hatchling to eat was proving difficult. He had little appetite and could barely swallow any morsel she did persuade him to eat. He was shivering. Brenton's magic had sealed the wound enough to prevent bleeding, but it was a terrible cut. He lay on her lap, still bundled in her cloak to make him comfortable through his pain, cuddling up to her and whimpering every now and then when it got too much to bear. She could hardly stand seeing him in this state, and was largely ignoring everyone else around them.